


Maturity

by hinamori_kidou_apprentice



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-18 00:51:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20630357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hinamori_kidou_apprentice/pseuds/hinamori_kidou_apprentice
Summary: Percy and Athena are at each other's throats again, this time with a little more on the line. Smut. PWP. Graphic Sexual Content.





	1. Chapter 1

"...and a big thank you to all of you who helped out today," Annabeth said, a tired but satisfied smile on her face. "If we continue at this pace, we should be done with the columns for the throne room by the end of the week!"

The crowd began to disperse after a long day at work building new Olympus, the old one having been destroyed during the battle against Kronos, and Percy was marvelling at how well Annabeth had designed the new Olympus, but how good of a leader she was during this whole construction project as well.

Percy and Annabeth had kissed after the Battle of Olympus only to find that there was no spark behind it, and even though the two of them had remained boyfriend and girlfriend for a couple weeks after that trying to make it work, they ended up splitting up. Since there were no hard feelings, Percy found it easy and not awkward at all assisting her with the project and remaining close friends. Still, considering the fact that he was pretty sure he had been attracted to Annabeth up until the point that he had kissed her, he found it odd that things had panned out the way they did.

"It's because you're an immature little boy," a cold female voice remarked from beside him condescendingly.

Percy didn't even need to look in her direction to know that Athena was standing right next to him, the constricting presence of her arrogance nearly suffocating him. "Excuse me?" Percy asked, mad not only because of what she had said, but because she could read him like an open book.

"You had a stupid, ideal image of Annabeth in your head that you thought she would become once you started dating her and she had a stupid, ideal vision of you in her head that involved you not being the complete idiot that you usually are," Athena said. "Why she would suddenly think you would miraculously become more intelligent because the two of you started dating is beyond me, but it is what it is. I'm only thankful that the two of you had the wits about you to end things before they turned ugly."

Percy rolled his eyes. This wasn't the first time Athena had made fun of him in her condescending tone of voice since they had been put in charge of two different groups of workers while rebuilding Olympus, but this time Percy wanted to make it the last.

"It has nothing to do with ideals we held in our heads," Percy replied strongly, finally turning to face her, taking in her lithe yet strong body and her rich brown hair that curled near the tips along with her startlingly grey eyes. "We kissed and there was no spark. Maybe something in us had changed during the final battle or maybe we just weren't meant for each other, but Annabeth is too smart to think something as crazy as what you said about anybody. We broke up because we've matured and realized no attraction exists, and you just sit there on your high horse and call everybody names and justify it as you being 'wise' rather than you who is the one being immature. You don't know the first thing about love - probably not even about physical attraction for that matter - and you think you have some sort of right to lecture me on it? That's the definition of immaturity if you ask me."

Athena turned a little red out of embarrassment, realizing that Percy had not only just spoken back to her, which he had never done before, but that there was a little bit of truth in his words.

"You've just made a grave mistake, Perseus Jackson," Athena snarled, her voice dangerously low, which was normally enough to send even Zeus running for the hills.

But Percy stood his ground and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, digging in a little deeper. "Oh yeah?" Percy replied. "Telling you what everybody thinks about you is a mistake, eh? What are you going to do about it? Smite me? Are you going to kill me because I'm the first person who has the balls to make you confront your flaws? Because that's really mature."

Athena blinked, the energy she was collecting in her arms dying down. He was outflanking her and making her second guess herself. If he hadn't said what he just had, he would have been dead by now. But she was too proud to do what he said and play into his hands, even if he wouldn't have been alive to gloat about it. Then again, he was also Annabeth's good friend.

She was also confused and a little stung by his remarks. Was that really what everybody else thought about her?

She took a deep breath through her nose to collect herself, sighed it out, then said, "How about we have a friendly swordfight, then? Swordplay was often used in the East to convey one's feelings. Also, you're invincible right now and so am I, and I'll take special care to not hit your Achilles' Heel."

Percy narrowed his eyes at her. "And what exactly would be the point of this? What would you or me winning prove about any of this?"

Athena shrugged. "It might not, but at least we can take out some of our anger at each other."

Percy snorted. "Fine. I'm in."

"Great," Athena said with false cheerfulness.

She grabbed Percy's wrist and teleported them to the arena in Olympus, which was a little off the path and rarely used these days. Being a structure of Olympus, however, meant that it was still pretty well-kept. There was no debris in the actual Arena, and the stands were spotless. There was more than enough room for two powerful warriors to go toe-to-toe, even a god and a demigod.

Percy faced Athena, who drew a sword from an invisible sheath at her side, and as she did, the chiton she had been wearing glowed blindingly bright, and Percy had to squeeze his eyes shut. When he could see again, he took in the fact that her chiton had turned into full-blown battle gear. A golden breastplate, an armored long skirt for free movement, and gold bracers and leg armor adorned her body, while her hair was pulled back into a loose bun. The armor was graceful yet somehow also screamed deadly, and the look on her face, one that probably could've turned Medusa to stone, wasn't much better either.

Percy had to admit that she looked pretty intimidating, not to mention the fact that her sword looked impossibly sharp. If he hadn't been invulnerable to physical attacks, Percy would have immediately turned and ran for his life. However, he was completely invincible, assuming Athena stayed true to her word and this wasn't a trap, so he drew Riptide and unsheathed it, becoming calm as the familiar weight of the sword in his hands soothed him. When he was wielding Riptide, anything was possible.

Athena took a stance that Percy had never seen before, but left no openings; or at least none that he could see. Percy took a stance of his own and met Athena's eyes, which he was surprised to find were full of life, as opposed to the cool look he had only ever seen in her eyes.

He found this side of her interesting, but decided to focus on the impending fight instead. He would be stupid to take any god or goddess lightly, especially when they were a god of war.

"Ready?" Athena asked, confidence and power burning in her eyes.

Percy gave a slight nod, digging his feet a little deeper into the ground as Athena's muscles tensed. Then, faster than Percy could blink, Athena had closed the ten foot distance between them and her face was mere inches from his, a wild look in her eyes. Reaction kicking in, Percy just barely managed to deflect the thrust that would have ended with Athena's sword tip against his stomach, wincing as her thrust nearly knocked Riptide right out of his hands. Vibrations still ran up his arms, and he twirled with the thrust to allow himself a moment's reprieve. Athena was one step ahead of him, though, and spun the other way to try to catch him with a slash in the other direction, and once again when Percy deflected, he almost lost grip of his sword.

Athena was in complete control, even if her eyes looked completely feral. Percy jumped back, baiting Athena to follow him, but she merely smirked at him and stood up, completely relaxed.

"What's the matter, Perseus?" she asked teasingly, her voice slightly husky. "You seem to be having a little trouble."

Then she dashed at him again. Percy was ready for it this time, though, and leapt forward with his knee out in front of him. He redirected Athena's stab and drove his knee into her gut, making her grunt as air was pushed out of her body. She still managed to step forward, though, and stomped down on Percy's foot; the one that was still on the ground. She hooked her arm under his knee and twisted with it, and Percy hissed in a breath as his knee popped.

"It's only your skin that's impervious," she breathed into his ear, then pushed him away from her, making him wince in pain as he staggered back.

Then he lunged forward, the blood rushing through his head driving the pain in his knee away for now, and managed to actually catch Athena off-guard. She obviously hadn't expected him to attack so quickly after being put in so much pain.

She shuffled back and awkwardly raised her sword, but Percy's attack was a feint, and he redirected his blade to the hilt of her sword, twisting when he reached it and pulling her sword right out of her hands.

With less than a moment's hesitation, she rolled for the sword, but Percy beat her to it, a triumphant grin on his face up until the point that Athena sprang up slammed Riptide out of his hand. Then she tackled him at the waist and slammed him onto the ground, making his vision dance as his head slammed against the ground so hard that he was sure his skull would have split had he not submerged himself in the River Styx.

As it was, his brain got jostled around a little in there, and when he came to, Athena was pinning him to the ground, her hands trapping his wrists, which were above his head, and her thighs were pinning his waist.

"Fuck," Percy moaned in pain, still seeing double.

"Looks like you were all talk," Athena said coldly, her face still inches from his, the feral look now gone from her eyes and replaced by the usual cool, calculated look she usually wore. "As expected."

"I think I need some ambrosia," Percy groaned, not caring about something as stupid as Athena's giant ego. It felt like he was dying. "Get off."

"Oh please," Athena said, smirking. "I didn't hit you that hard."

Percy blinked hard, trying to drive away the feeling of his head feeling like it was splitting down the middle. "I'm...serious..." he managed to get out through gritted teeth. "I seriously think I might be dying."

A look of bewilderment passed across Athena's face, then a small look of concern replaced it. "Oh..." she said when she had finally reassured herself that he was being serious.

She then pulled an ambrosia square from somewhere in her armor and popped it in his mouth, and he sighed in relief as he swallowed it and the pain finally died down in his head.

She sat up on his stomach, still looking down at him with slight arrogance. "I thought you would put up a better fight than that."

Now that Percy was feeling better, the comment irked him a little. "Yeah yeah," he said. "You won fair and square." He wasn't one to entertain gloaters, but figured Athena was a bit of a different case since she was a goddess.

"Feeling better now?" Athena asked him, surprising him. She had never shown concern for him or his well being before.

"Yeah, fine," he said. He averted his eyes. "Thanks."

She stood up without a word and offered him her hand, which he took on his way up. Then Athena crouched into an unarmed fighting stance and said, "Think fast."

She went to tackle him again, but Percy had a feeling something like this might happen as soon as she had started acting funny, and he managed to grab her and turn with her, taking her down instead, landing unceremoniously on top of her. As he tried to get better positioning to pin her down to make her admit defeat, she squirmed and managed to flip them, sending them into a roll.

It somehow ended with Percy on top this time with his face just inches from hers, and he noticed that there was a new quality to her eyes that Percy hadn't seen before and confused him. All he knew was that look, combined with the way she was panting in his face, the sweat running down her neck, and the way her hair was splayed around her made him notice how incredibly hot she was.

She smirked at him again, but this time, rather than a condescending smirk, it was a smirk that sent pleasurable shivers down Percy's spine.

"I win again," she breathed.

"What do you mean?" Percy panted, a little confused.

She bent her knee, which was in between Percy's legs, and stopped when her lower thigh was resting against Percy's junk.

"Woah," Percy said as he quickly scrambled off of her. Was she really ready to go so low as to knee him in the groin? Even with the Styx's blessing, Percy was sure that would still hurt.

A different kind of feral look in her eyes now, Athena sprang to her feet and began closing in on Percy, who, as he slowly backed up a little, noticed that Athena had made herself even younger, so that she looked like a woman who was probably only five to ten years old than him rather than a woman who looked to be twenty-five to thirty years older than him.

"Yo Athena," Percy said nervously as he now backpedaled away from the crazy woman. "Calm down a little. No nut shots."

"I'm not trying to injure your testicles, Perseus," Athena said, tackling him to the ground again and pinning him with relative ease.

"Then what were you doing?" Percy asked, noticing that Athena's eyes were again cloudy with whatever that quality from earlier was.

She didn't answer, but merely licked her lips and leaned down to press them against his, making his eyes shoot open in surprise.

"Athena, what the hell?" he asked even as arousal began to stir within him. She was a damn good kisser considering she was a virgin goddess.

"I won," she said, putting her full body weight on him. "I think that means I should get a reward."

"Get off," Percy said, struggling futilely.

"What's the matter, Percy?" Athena asked breathily, slightly grinding her hips into his. "Afraid I'm going to hurt you?"

"As if," Percy said agitatedly. "You're just getting all weird on me. I'm pretty sure we're supposed to hate each other."

Seeming to grow even more aroused, Athena said, "Fighting you made me realize that you're not a kid anymore, Percy. Plus you actually managed to land a pretty decent blow on me. I haven't had that much fun in a while. And the way you pinned me down and made me feel helpless for those few moments...I've never felt anything like that before. It was a rush."

Percy felt his cock begin to stir in his pants when Athena mentioned being helpless below him. Who would have known she would be into being submissive? But still..."And why would I want to do something like this with you when you're always a bitch to me?" he asked. "How could you possibly think I find you attractive when you're frigid and mean to me all the time?"

Athena chuckled and her nails dug into his wrist a little. She kissed him hard again, forcing her tongue into his mouth, and he naturally responded, overwhelmed by how good her mouth tasted and how soft and supple her lips were. Then she wrapped her lips around his tongue and sucked on it a little, slowly pulling off of it suggestively, and by the time his tongue popped out of her mouth, his cock was rock hard and suggestively pushing against Athena's panty-clad ass through his jeans.

"Frigid and mean," she said in amusement. "There were a lot of times where I held back."

"And why would you do that?" Percy asked disbelievingly.

"Even though you're a son of Poseidon," she said, almost spitting out the name, "You are also my daughter's best friend. A couple of years ago, I also realized that you aren't like Poseidon at all."

Percy rolled his eyes, trying to maintain focus as Athena slowly but steadily grinded against his throbbing erection. "Oh yeah? How?"

"Well, all of your fighting has actually made you sexy, unlike that 70's beach bum look your father goes for," she said, licking her lips. "You're also surprisingly loyal and courageous, and after you spoke back to me, I realized that you possessed qualities I've never seen in any other human or demigod."

Athena took her hands off his arms, but before Percy could move them, she snapped her fingers and an invisible force continued to hold his arms down above his head.

She scooted down his body and began unzipping his pants, to which Percy calmly said, "So now what? You're just going to rape me?"

Athena yanked his shorts and boxers down in one fell swoop, exposing Percy's rock-hard erection to the cool air of Olympus. "It's not rape if you're consenting," Athena said, staring directly into his eyes as she wrapped a hand around his shaft and slowly began stroking his shaft, squeezing it perfectly. "Unless you'd rather stop me now, that is," she said teasingly, using her other hand to gently spread his precum around the head of his cock, making him hiss in a breath. It felt better than Percy ever could have imagined.

"What was that?" she asked, that stupid, arrogant smile still on her face. "I swear I could have heard a sound of pleasure."

"Nope," Percy said through gritted teeth as Athena picked up the pace, pumping his shaft hard and fast, her other hand now gently teasing his balls.

Athena just rolled her eyes, stilled her hand at the base of his shaft, then licked her plump lips before wrapping them around the head of his cock, sucking on it and teasing it with her tongue a little before lowering herself down on him, not stopping until she had taken him all the way in and he was nestled deep in her throat. She did all this while maintaining eye contact, too, and Percy's eyes rolled up in pleasure. He couldn't help it.

Athena began bobbing on his shaft, making him let out a little moan, the feeling of her hot, wet mouth around him driving him crazy. She repeatedly deepthroated him, not having issues with her gag reflex at all, being a goddess and all, the seal of her lips around his shaft remaining perfect, which meant she was providing the perfect amount of suction, as well.

Percy felt the binding around his arms release and he immediately brought his hands to Athena's head, helping guide her pace as she sucked him off, shining spit and lipstick coating his cock each time she came up high enough for Percy to see.

"Athena, I..." he grunted, unable to get the rest out before his balls tightened and he felt his release explode through him.

And the feeling stopped there, Athena pulling her mouth off of him to innocently smile at him, strings of spit still connecting her lips to his cock, which was ready to burst.

"What the...fuck..." Percy moaned, still feeling like he was past the point of no return but not to the point that he felt maximum pleasure.

"Tell me you want me, Percy," Athena purred. "I'm not letting you come until you tell me you want this."

Percy made a dismayed sound, then said, "Fine. I want you, Athena. You're fucking hot as hell and I want to blow my load all over you."

"And?" Athena asked, stroking him a little. Percy was sure that if this kept up, his testicles would rupture. "What about all those names you called me earlier?"

Percy groaned and said, "I'm sorry I called you cold and friendless and a bitch. You're sexy and intelligent and I'm sure you have friends. I had the wrong impression."

"That's better," Athena cood, and Percy sighed in relief as his orgasm ripped through him, hot, thick cum rocketing out of his shaft and sticking to Athena's face as she quickly pumped his cock, milking him for every last drop.

When he was finally finished, Athena lowered her mouth back down on him, cleaning him off and doing something with her tongue and light touches from her teeth that instantly made him rock hard again.

"What the hell?" Percy asked as Athena stood up and began unhooking her breastplate. "How did you do that?"

Athena's breastplate fell to the ground with a heavy thud, and cracked the ground a little underneath it on impact. The same happened with her bracers and leg armor, too, as she replied, "Just because I'm a virgin goddess doesn't mean I don't know how to stimulate men. Virgin means I've just never done it...you know, down there."

Her face grew red as she said it, and Percy blinked when she took off her skirt and shirt, leaving her in nothing but a sports bra and matching brief panties. Then she said, "Why are your clothes not off yet?"

She reached down and pulled Percy's shoes, socks, pants, and boxers off while he quickly divested himself of his shirt, leaving him naked before her and achingly hard. "Wait a second," he said as Athena hooker thumbs in her panties. "We're not going to...do it right now, are we?"

Athena's face turned a little more red as she pulled her panties off, revealing her perfect, wet, puffy lower lips to Percy, and as she took of her bra, she said, "Well yeah. I may still retain my virginity but that doesn't mean I haven't been looking for someone to take it."

Percy choked on nothing and sputtered out, "What? But why me? Why not some other god?"

Athena tossed her bra aside, revealing her perky, full tits to Percy, and as she sat down on his stomach, her hands on his chest, she said, "I really don't know why. All I know is that I've never been this turned on in my life and my mind is screaming to me that this is the right time." Then she rolled them over so Percy was on top, the tip of his cock gently prodding her warm core. "All I know is that I want you to have your way with me."

Percy grew impossibly hard at hearing the words that passed Athena's lips, and he bent down to press his lips against hers, receiving as much passion as he put in.

"Enough foreplay," Athena whined a little. "I need you inside of me now."

Percy gritted his teeth as he quickly pushed into her, and they both quickly gasped and she said, "Percy...Slow...er..."

By then, it was too late, since by the time she finished telling him to slow down he was as far inside of her as he could go, their bodies completely connected. She blinked up at him a few times and said, "Aphrodite had said it had actually hurt for her, but I thought she had been joking." She grimaced and said, "Apparently goddesses aren't immune to all forms of pain."

The silence between them as Percy stayed nestled inside of her not saying a word was a bit awkward, maybe because it was weird that they had been at each other's throats since they had first met and now Percy was balls deep in her in an empty arena on Mt. Olympus. That was what was really lacking between them: effective, truthful communication.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity but was probably just a minute or two, Athena said, "Alright, you can move."

Percy began slowly rocking inside of her, eliciting a gasp from both of them as their bodies adjusted to one another, Percy in awe of how tight, hot, and wet Athena's pussy was while Athena marvelled at how thick, hard, and long Percy was. He completely stretched her out, almost to the point of pain, but was just small enough that every little movement inside of her felt like perfection, whimpers escaping her throat each time his spongy crown nudged the opening to her cervix.

Her nails dug into his shoulder blades as she clung onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist and crying out when this position created new angles for his cock to rub inside of her. Percy was grunting a little with each thrust into her, the sound of their slapping skin echoing throughout the arena along with their shouts and moans. The way her pussy gripped and milked him as it drew him in with each steady movement into her amazed him, almost like her body was trying to desperately make sure that it stayed filled up at all times. Their chests were pressed together and their faces were in the crooks of each other's necks, panting into each other's ear, their sweaty bodies rubbing up against one another's.

Athena could feel liquid fire pooling in her belly at this point, and knew she wasn't going to last much longer. The way Percy was pumping into her and making her feel like she had no control over the pace or dictation of what was happening between them made her incredibly hot, and she could feel her inner muscles begin to squeeze Percy's cock harder.

Then Percy nipped her earlobe and she came undone, arching her back and crying out as Percy ruthlessly impaled her with his cock again and again, not even giving her a moment's rest as her pussy convulsed around his cock and coated it with warm, glistening juices, and she made a little sound of surprise when Percy slammed deep down into her and stayed there, thick ropes of cum pumping into her and filling her with searing heat, her pussy squeezing and milking his cock for every last bit of cum he possessed.

Then Percy twitched a few last times inside of her and he pulled out and propped himself up so he could look into her eyes. She reached up and kissed him long and slow, this time with less heat and more tenderness, then she collapsed back onto the ground, utterly exhausted. Percy rolled beside her and she took the opportunity to scoot closer to him so her body was pressed against his side and her head was on his shoulder.

They remained silent in their post-coital bliss, which was by far a more comfortable silence than when Percy had first entered her.

Then the clicks of high heels began echoing throughout the arena, and Athena quickly shot up into a sitting position to see Aphrodite approaching to the two of them, a highly satisfied smile on her face.

"So I take you two enjoyed your...ahem...play time?" Aphrodite asked mischieviously.

"Sister?" Athena asked, her face scarlet with embarrassment, then comprehension dawned on her. "You made this happen, didn't you? You made me sleep with...with...him, didn't you?" she asked, her finger visibly shaking in rage as she pointed at Percy, who felt more than a little offended at the gesture.

"I just planted the merest trace of a seed, my deer," Aphrodite said as if it didn't matter. "It shouldn't have taken real effect for a couple of years yet. And if you're looking to blame me, ask yourself instead who it was who allowed whom to stick their you-know-what in more than one place in their body."

Athena was sure somebody could have fried an egg on her face at that point, and she quickly snapped her fingers, fully clothing both herself and Percy, who had stood up by this point and was walking towards the exit of the arena in disgust.

Athena, however, took no notice, choosing instead to teleport back to her private quarters, where she angrily threw herself onto her purely decorative bed. She was angry more than anything because she had completely let herself lose control of the situation, which meant that not only was Aphrodite right about something for once, but she had let Percy Jackson of all people take her virginity, which she had kept intact for millennia.

Percy...

"Shit," Athena said as she sat up in her bed, realizing what she had said about Percy while he had still been right in front of her. The look on his face had been pretty bad too...

"I don't care," she told herself, trying to push away the pit of regret and loneliness that was quickly building in her stomach. "It's Percy Jackson. I don't care. I don't care. Fucking Aphrodite." She sat down on her bed with her head in her hands, sighed, and said out loud to steel her determination, "I have to make this up to him."

Sure, she had never particularly cared for Percy that much up until about an hour ago, but now that he had taken her virginity, she realized that maybe he could be good not only for her, but to her. Maybe everything had felt right in terms of him taking her virginity because they were fated to be together. Maybe that's why she felt so empty, knowing that he was probably unspeakably angry with her right now.

Percy was unspeakably angry with Athena at the moment. He was riding the elevator back down to the Empire State Building, absolutely fuming the whole way.

She completely gave herself to him and they had gone at it like a couple of horny rabbits, and she had the gall to continue to act like he was nothing more than scum on her shoe? That was ridiculous. He had been a fool to believe that she had actually changed her attitude toward him.

Maybe it was because Athena had just taken his own virginity, but copulating with her had unlocked a soft spot for her in his heart. Sure, he hadn't been particularly fond of her up until about an hour ago, but now, as he stewed in his own anger and embarrassment over how Athena had treated him after Aphrodite had shown up, Percy was realizing that what had just happened between the two of them had changed how he felt about her.

He wanted to do it with her again...and again, and again, and again.

The worst part was that he was already growing slightly aroused in the elevator as he thought of her again. She had such an amazing body, and he had seen her vulnerable side, and what he saw underneath that frigid exterior of hers was simply breathtaking.

If she hadn't completely emasculated him, he might have even asked if she would consider trying something romantic, as far fetched as that sounded to his ears.

As it was, she had completely reverted to her old self once Aphrodite had come along, snapping Percy back to reality, leaving him alone and confused.

"Fucking Aphrodite," he quietly moaned as he sat down in the lobby of the Empire State Building, his face in his hands.

After a bit of time spent in self-pity, Percy finally stood up and slowly made his way back to camp, his heart heavy.

It was amazing that a brief moment of fun and pleasure could turn into something as complicated and fucked-up as this.

He went directly to his cabin, completely ignoring everyone who asked him what was wrong, and flopped onto his bed, his thoughts full of Athena as he quickly drifted off to sleep.

Thoughts of what could have been.


	2. Chapter 2

Athena paced in her room, twirling a strand of hair with her finger as she paced her room, her eyebrows meeting in the middle of her forehead. Her stomach was twisting a bit as she thought of the look on Percy's face when Aphrodite had confronted them after their little romp about a week ago. Since then, Athena had gone through quite a few emotions ranging from anger to sadness to indifference before finally setting on distress when she realized that she regretted hurting Percy. At the time, she had thought she wouldn't care when he left wounded, but she had been dead wrong about that.

She had never really liked Percy, who had had an eye on her daughter for quite awhile. He was a bad influence, and had convinced his daughter to go with gut feelings and rash decisions rather than thinking things through. She hated nothing more than people who never thought things through.

Which was why she was also slightly angry at herself for not thinking through everything when she had done what she had done to Percy. She had truly meant what she had said when she had told him her opinion of him had been changing. Even though he thought rashly, he was incredibly loyal and brave, and protected the things he loved with a fervor she rarely saw in anybody. He fought for what was right and what he believed in and wouldn't allow anyone to tell him otherwise, and knew how to keep his cool in dangerous situations. Hell, he was even so brave that he had talked back to her, which she had never really encountered from anybody before. She had always thought that if a human or demigod had talked back to her, she would be incredibly angry, but instead she found it to be exciting, giving her a little rush that she hadn't really felt from anything else.

Maybe it was the complete absence of fear in Percy's eyes.

The only thing Athena was sure of at that moment was that she was afraid. She had never gone through something like this before, so she didn't know exactly what she was afraid of, but the fear was constantly gnawing at her.

Was she afraid of losing Percy? No, that couldn't be it; Percy wasn't even hers.

Was she afraid of him being right about her all along? Had she really developed into a cold, heartless bitch over the past millennia? That couldn't be right; she had already resolved herself to eternal loneliness a long time ago.

What in the name of Zeus was she afraid of? She was Athena, goddess of War! She wasn't afraid of anything!

"Ugh," she said aloud, holding her head as a headache began to set on. That was how serious this was. She hadn't even had a damn headache before. How was something as simple as this giving her a headache?

It was at this moment that Athena remembered why she had been a virgin for so long. All of this just complicated things. She was forced to think with her heart, not her brain.

She hated doing that. Love was really shitty.

"Is there a problem, sister?" a slightly smug voice asked from her doorway, and Athena stopped in her tracks to narrow her eyes at Aphrodite.

"Yeah, there's a fucking problem," she said. "You fucked with my head and managed to convince me that I actually give a shit about Percy Jackson, of all people."

Aphrodite mocked a look of offense, then smiled innocently and said, "I may have given Percy just a tiny nudge in your direction in regards of his feelings towards you, but I have absolutely no power when it comes to you or your feelings. You know Lord Zeus is the only one who can actually affect us with his powers. If I had the ability to make you love somebody, I would have done it a long, long time ago."

This made Athena's stomach churn. If Aphrodite really didn't have any sway on her, and Athena knew she really didn't, that meant that these feeling for Percy were actually legitimate, which was both scary and interesting simultaneously. She had developed feelings for somebody for the first time in her existence. She didn't know exactly what the feelings were; only that he was the first person she had hurt emotionally who she actually wanted to apologize to.

Athena sighed, "Fine then, sister." Her face turned a bit red, and, unable to believe she was actually going to Aphrodite of all people for advice, reluctantly asked, "What should I do if I want to make up with Percy?"

Aphrodite grinned a grin that made Athena immediately regret her question. "I already talked to Zeus about it, and we both know how much he cares about you, so he made this for you," Aphrodite gushed while taking a pill out of her bag and pressing it into Athena's hand. Athena looked at it with a little uncertainty, and Aphrodite said, "Don't worry about it, sis. It'll just let you think more clearly about everything. Zeus knows you of all people have your head full of unnecessary thoughts, so he put this together." Her smile grew even wider as Athena began moving it towards her mouth. "So go on..."

Athena, completely lacking trust in Aphrodite but being in a state of complete desperation, squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed the pill before she could second guess her sister again. When she was done she blinked, then frowned as energy began to leave her.

"Ugh," she said, looking at Aphrodite in confusion. "I feel horrible. What's happening?"

Aphrodite laughed a fake girly laugh and said, "Looks like it's working. And believe it or not, I do have your best interests at heart and you may hate me for what I just did at first, but you'll come to really love me for it eventually.

Now Athena was growing panicked. "What the fuck did I just swallow, Aphrodite?"

Aphrodite smiled a condescending smile at her and said, "Oh, Athena. While our powers can't directly affect each other, powers of the Earth can. With a tiny hint of a spell that I got Lord Zeus to cast on it, you will possess none of your godly powers until you finally reconcile with Percy."

Fear stabbed through Athena, and she said, "Why would you do this, sister?"

Aphrodite snapped her fingers, and Athena felt her body begin to melt away with the familiar pangs of teleportation. "Zeus and I agreed that you and Percy have no hope unless you learn how to be a little more humble." She quickly hugged Athena, who was frozen in shock, and said, "Hopefully I'll see you and Percy back up here again soon! Good luck!"

Then head-splitting pain ripped through Athena and her body felt like it was being reorganized at the molecular level, and then...

And then she was standing in the middle of a beautiful forest. Lush green and healthy brown surrounded her on all sides, and she could faintly hear a stream trickling somewhere. The sun pierced the tree line in little shafts, beautifully illuminating little spots of the forest all around her. She hadn't been down to foresty parts of the world all that much as a goddess, and actually found this experience to be quite nice.

Then reality hit her when she began walking aimlessly.

At first everything about her seemed normal and Athena even thought for a moment that nothing had changed within her and Aphrodite had just been pulling her leg, but after three or four minutes of walking, her legs began to feel a little heavy and her breathing picked up in pace a little.

"Damn," she breathed, and winced when a branch cut her arm.

She frowned and looked at the almost invisible cut, which began to turn a little red, and Athena was confused until she realized that it was blood.

She was bleeding, even if it was only a little.

Fascinated and with fear still pounding throughout her body, she wiped her finger over the cut and stuck it in her mouth, cringing a bit at the metallic taste. She assessed the severity of the cut, and, after determining it wasn't life-threatening, carried on walking through the forest.

She walked and walked and walked, and, after she was sure she had passed through the same exact little clearing four or five times, finally stumbled out of the maze of trees to find that the sun was long gone, not that it helped the summer heat much. Athena was completely out of breath and sweat was dripping down her forehead and neck, her dress was dirty and ripped in a few places, and her throat was drier than a desert in the summer.

She staggered forward and she breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized Camp Half-Blood from the one or two times she had visited. It looked pretty much the same as she remembered with some visual updates, but all that mattered was that the Big House was in the same place it always was.

She tried to collect herself and make herself a little more presentable by the time she reached the door and knocked, and wondered why she was still out of breath. Surely she hadn't neglected her physical fitness that much...not that it mattered much as a goddess.

"Oh, well hello there," Chiron said as he answered the door in his wheelchair, a confused look on his face. "We weren't expecting any visitors here today."

Athena sighed exasperatedly and said, "Chiron, I need water." She hadn't meant for it to sound so whiny when she said it, but her legs were killing her after a couple hours of walking and she didn't really care enough to apologize.

Chiron frowned and said, "I'm sorry ma'am, but I need to know who you are before I let you in. Not doing so would be neglectful and would compromise the safety of the campers."

Athena was stunned. How could he not recognize her? They saw each other at the meetings held at each solstice, and, being intellectuals, were pretty friendly towards one another. Was she really that different as a human?

"Chiron, it's Athena," she said. "Will you please let me in?" she asked, trying to be a little nicer. She was sure her body was completely devoid of any form of water by now.

This time Chiron fingered the hilt of his dagger and said, "You possess absolutely no power whatsoever and you expect me to believe that you are the almighty goddess Athena? Identify yourself properly in the next five seconds or I will have no choice but to detain you and take you to Olympus for impersonation."

This froze Athena in her tracks. Of course that's how he would choose to recognize her when she had the ability to change her form at will. How could she possibly be making one mental blunder after another? This wasn't like her at all. She scrambled to find an answer that would satisfy his question as he slowly unsheathed his dagger while standing up from his chair so that he was towering above her. There was no way she could prove to him that she was who she claimed to be.

How embarrassing would it be for her to be taken back to Olympus like this for all of the gods and goddesses to see? She wouldn't live it down for the rest of eternity, especially when she was the Goddess of Wisdom and had been tricked by the ditzy Aphrodite!

Right when Chiron reached an arm out towards her, a roll of parchment suddenly popped into existence in his hand, and he frowned as he pulled it towards his face and began reading. He glanced at Athena several times as he read what she assumed was surely a letter from Zeus or Aphrodite explaining the situation, his lips slowly but surely pressing into a thin line all the while.

Finally, he finished and sighed. Athena prepared herself for the reprimanding she knew she was about to get; she knew Chiron didn't shy away from lecturing anybody and what she had done certainly deserved more than one lecture. Instead, she was surprised when Chiron grabbed her shoulders and said, "Let's get you some food and water, Lady Athena. The campers only have a few minutes left until their curfew, so you're going to have to wait until tomorrow to see Percy."

Athena nodded, her face a little red in embarrassment, and said, "Thank you very much, Chiron."

After dinner, which was some absolutely delicious beef stew, and a square of ambrosia to fix up the little cuts she had gotten while traversing the forest, Chiron showed her up to her room, where Athena rolled her eyes at seeing numerous outfits hanging up in the closet, which was surely Aphrodite's doing.

Chiron scratched his head as he went to leave and said, "You know...I was wondering why Percy hasn't been his usual self lately, but it all makes sense now."

Athena frowned a little. "In what way has he not been his usual self?" she asked.

"Well...he's been secluding himself and snapping at anyone who tries to ask him what's wrong," he said, and Athena felt guilt bubble in her stomach. "I really hope you can get him back to his old self; his attitude is affecting the whole camp, seeing as how he's a leader and all."

Athena looked down in shame while Chiron said, "Best of luck, Lady Athena," and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Athena fell on the bed and, absolutely exhausted, fell asleep for the first time in her life, thoughts of guilt and Percy filling her head, along with the hope that the next day would be a lot better than the entirety of last week.

Athena woke up feeling incredibly refreshed, and looked at the clock to find that she had slept for close to ten hours. She stretched her limbs and yawned, tears collecting in her eyes at how good it felt. If she had known sleeping felt so good, she would have started taking what Aphrodite liked to call 'recreational beauty naps' quite awhile ago.

Then she groaned as reality hit her. It only felt so good because she didn't have her powers right now and was somehow going to have to get Percy to forgive her. Apologizing to him outright was probably not an option; she was too proud. Even if she did, it would probably sound too forced.

"Dammit," she said while looking at the horribly gaudy and oversexualized outfits that Athena was now absolutely sure Aphrodite had picked out for her.

In the end she found a moderately conservative gold and green summer dress tucked somewhere far behind everything. As if Aphrodite really believed she would wear something that exposed so much of her breasts or legs.

But no, this dress was surprisingly perfect, as it covered as much as she wanted it to and hopefully didn't make her terribly ugly. So she donned it and made her way downstairs and shielded her eyes from the bright summer sun, squinting up at Chiron, who was waiting for her.

"Breakfast will begin in just a few minutes, so we're going to make our way over to the dining area," he explained as he slowly walked next to her. "You are not a goddess and I don't plan to let the campers know. It's pretty obvious even to the untrained eye that you're not your usual self and you never know who wishes to harm you."

Athena nodded as she followed him, having already come to the same conclusion the day before. She jumped a little when Chiron snapped a finger in front of her face, and when she gave him a confused look, he explained, "Your eyes are too much of a giveaway. I made the mist make them green."

Athena gave him an impressed look and followed him the rest of the way in silence, taking in the slight tingling feeling each little breeze that whistled through the valley brought with it. The vividity of the grass and the flowers lining the walkway was absolutely breathtaking. It was during these short moments that Athena was in awe at what it meant to really be alive. Sure, she had been a goddess before, but everything then was about the bigger picture; the world as a whole and its future compared to what she was experiencing right now at this moment.

All too soon, the two of them arrived at the dining hall and Athena stepped up next to Chiron, her eyes quickly finding Percy, who was sitting at his table with his head resting on his arms, his eyes closed. She smiled a small smile to herself as her eyes took him in. Seeing him again steeled her resolve, and she even relished in the fact that her stomach did a pleasurable little flip upon laying eyes on him.

Chiron cleared his throat, startling Athena back to her normal self, whereupon she realized that everybody was staring at her, making her slightly uncomfortable. Usually she was met with respect and awe, not looks that were a mixture of boredom and mild curiosity.

"Well everybody, before we eat I'm going to be introducing you all to someone who will be staying at camp with us for...an unknown amount of time as of yet," Chiron said.

Percy lifted his head and his and Athena's eyes met. There was a second where Percy looked at her in confusion, which Athena knew was due to the change in her eye color, then the life slowly left them and he let his head fall back down on his desk, but not before Athena saw his lips curl into a slight look of disgust.

Athena's good feelings and optimistic outlook about today fizzled out on the spot. She had known Percy would recognize her because she still looked the exact same as when the two of them had shared their bodies with one another in the arena, but had hoped for a slightly better reaction than that.

"Her name is Itonia, and she is guest sent here by Poseidon to...ah, check up on things," Chiron said, choosing his words carefully. "Therefore, she will be eating, sleeping, and participating in activities with the Poseidon cabin for the duration of her stay." Athena whipped her head at Chiron in shock, and she swore she could see a flash of a smile ghost onto his face for a moment before he continued. "I expect you all to greet her warmly. Any questions?"

Nobody said anything. Maybe it was because it was the early morning and people were still tired...but Athena figured it was because she was nothing special; just another new camper. The anonymity was both frightening and interesting simultaneously.

"Then, Itonia, you can take your seat with Mr. Jackson at the Poseidon table," he said, gesturing to said table.

Athena's nerves mounted exponentially until she was seated in front of Percy, ignoring Annabeth's critical stare as she passed. There was no doubt in Athena's mind that her smartest child had seen right through her guise...but there was nothing she could do about that now. She would just have to explain it to her properly later.

When she had finally sat down in front of Percy, who still had his eyes closed and his head on his arms, food appeared in front of them and everybody began standing up to make offerings to the gods. Athena and Percy did the same, Athena reluctantly making her offering to Aphrodite for help with the predicament she was in.

When the two of them took their seats again, Athena took a small bite of her food and met eyes with Percy, who was giving her a flat, emotionless stare.

"So...Itonia," he said. "You know my dad then?" he asked, obviously putting on a show for those around them who were curious enough to eavesdrop. There was no doubt in Athena's mind that if Percy wasn't a role model for the younger campers, he wouldn't have even acknowledged her at all.

"I do," she stated simply, worry chewing at her gut just a little too much to come up with anything more than that.

"I look forward to spending time with you then," he said with a slightly sardonic twist to his lips that only she could notice from where they were seated.

"Myself as well," she returned quietly, and the two of them finished their breakfast in a silence that was far more awkward than any other Athena had ever experienced before.

After they were done, Percy stood up and said to her, "I'm sure there are a few things we need to go over, such as the specifications of what you hope to accomplish here, so we should go to the cabin and hatch a game plan."

She nodded and stood up to follow him, but was stopped in her tracks when Annabeth walked up to the two of them and grabbed both of their arms. "You go on to the cabin, Percy," she said calmly. "I would just like one quick word with...Itonia before you two are alone."

Annabeth pulled Athena along quite hastily all the way to the Athena cabin while Percy was left standing there dumbfounded. Annabeth was just radiating confusion, and as expected, when the door to the cabin closed behind the two of them, Annabeth immediately asked, "What are you doing here mother? And why are you posing as anybody but who you are? Does this have to do with why Percy has been acting so weird lately?" Then she gasped. "Did you...did you and Percy...?"

Athena turned a bit red, but managed to keep her normal calm, collected expression. She couldn't believe she was actually having this conversation with Annabeth at this moment. She had wanted time to prepare before this.

"Yes, Annabeth, Percy and I had sex," she said, trying her best to not be embarrassed. "And I made a grave mistake when Aphrodite walked in on us afterwards."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at her. "And what exactly did you do that was such a grave mistake, mother?" she asked with a dangerous edge to her voice.

After Athena told her about what had transpired, Annabeth said, "If you were any other woman, I would have slapped you across the face right now and told you to never go near Percy again unless you want to die." The disappointment Annabeth was exuding absolutely crushed Athena inside, and it was at this point that she thought she knew what it meant to be human. Before, the feelings of a friend of a man she had wronged would have been far beneath her worries, even if that certain somebody was Annabeth. Now she just felt an overwhelming sense of regret and guilt. "That said, you are mother and I know you didn't mean what you said. After all, it's pretty hard to break millennia of a certain way of thinking in such a short amount of time. If anyone can do it, though, it's you."

Annabeth hugged her and Athena, overcome by emotion, hugged her back and said, "Thank you, Annabeth. I'll do my best."

Annabeth nodded and sent her on her way without another word, and Athena, a little more confidence in her step, marched into the Poseidon cabin without knocking. Percy was waiting right in front of the doorway, however, and Athena let out a little oomph as she walked right into him.

She staggered back a bit and felt her confidence quickly go right back out the way it came under the look Percy was giving her.

"What the hell are you doing here, Athena?" he asked. "So bored of your routine up in Olympus that you came down here and forced Chiron to give you full access to me so you can make my life even more miserable?"

"Percy, I..." she began.

Percy sighed. "Look, I know you're a goddess and all and you probably don't understand everything that goes through my head, so I'm just going to tell you outright," he said. The look of pain he was giving her hurt her heart. "I was really confused after what we did and I realized that I kind of really liked you. What you did after that was just unbelievable. So believe me, if you're looking to torment me anymore, you can't really bring me any lower than this."

The cool, haughty composure Athena usually held cracked at that moment. The look on Percy's face combined with how exhausted and beaten down he sounded broke something inside her, and for the first time in her existence, she felt tears stinging her eyes as they began to pool. "I didn't come to do any of that, Percy," she said quietly. "I came because...because I..." Athena swallowed her pride and choked out, "Because I completely regret how I treated you, and...and I'm so sorry that I did what I did when Aphrodite found us. I've been tearing my hair out for a week trying to figure out how to somehow, in whatever way possible, I could ever make it up to you."

Stunned silence from both of them followed. Athena had never thought she could apologize and actually mean it without feeling terrible about herself, but actually apologizing from the bottom of her heart lifted a bit of weight off of her chest. Athena had to hand it to Aphrodite; she was really learning a lot about herself during this course of events.

"Well, I'm glad I actually seem to matter enough to you that you would actually admit that you were wrong," Percy said. "But I don't see how any of this matters in the end. You got what you came for, now you'll go back up to Olympus and we'll end up having this hanging over our heads whenever we're near each other."

Athena felt her heart swell with courage, and she said, "I never want to go back to what we had. Besides my apology, the main reason I came here is to...to...well, to win your heart," she finally said, fighting the heat in her cheeks. Percy looked at her like she was crazy, and she said, "I realized after agonizing over how to approach you following what I did that I really really care for you. It doesn't have to do with fate or Aphrodite or anything else; the fact of the matter is that I want to get to know you on a more personal level."

Now Percy was even more confused. "You realize all we've done the entire time we've known each other is argue like crazy and fuck once. We don't even know each other at all," he said.

Athena frowned and said, "While you may be right about that, I can't help but feel a pull towards you," she said, struggling to properly put it into an analogy. "It's like something is drawing me towards you and I can't fight it...and I don't really want to fight it either, for the record. I'm interested in pursuing something romantic with you." She didn't mean for it to sound so planned and detached as she said the last sentence, but there was no helping it now.

Percy shook his head and said, "While I'm flattered that somebody as esteemed as you, Lady Athena, are romantically interested in me, I don't really think I like you enough to put up with you the next time you do something like this. Not after what you did right when I thought I could actually be falling for you." Percy's words tore through Athena agonizingly roughly, and what Percy said next made it that much worse. "You blew it."

Percy brushed past her, leaving her stunned as the door slammed behind her. Out of everything that might have happened with the situation she was in, she had never guessed that he would confess that he had had feelings for her, then completely reject her apology. How could he not see how serious she was about this? She had never been this serious about anything guy related in her entire existence! This was more than frustrating, but there was no way she was going to let this get to her. She would stick to it relight the flames of Percy's feelings for her and he was going to like it.

So she confidently strode out of the cabin to see Annabeth standing there, a sympathetic look on her face.

"I...uh, saw Percy storm out of here looking pretty angry," she said cautiously. "Everything alright?"

Athena smiled at her. "Just because there's a little hitch in my plan doesn't mean I'm going to give up," she said. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Mother, I hope you know what you're getting into," Annabeth said. At Athena's curious look, Annabeth continued with, "Percy Jackson is the most stubborn person you will ever have the pleasure of dealing with in your life."

Athena laughed and said, "Annabeth, I've had millennia to become the most stubborn being in existence. Don't worry about me."

Annabeth smiled with a little worry at that and said, "Best of luck, then."

And so Athena began walking through Camp Half-Blood looking for Percy, determined to make him understand. She walked and walked and walked, looking everywhere for him, passing camper after camper who wasn't Percy. She walked past volleyball pits, obstacle courses, a giant climbing wall, and the archery range without finding Percy before she finally found herself standing in front of the arena. There was no doubt in Athena's mind that Percy would be in here, so she confidently began walking towards the entrance, head held high despite how hard her heart was pounding inside her chest.

"Woof!"

Athena almost jumped out of her skin as a giant hellhound materialised right in front of her and blocked her path, and her hand fumbled for her lance that was no longer in its invisible sheath at her side. She was petrified in fear as she stood rooted in place, her vulnerability making her knees weak. She couldn't defend herself and she was completely mortal.

The best lowered its head at her and Athena cringed, preparing for the worst. Then the hellhound stuck out its tongue and gave her a big lick to the face before sitting down in front of her, panting happily.

Athena calmed down a little as she realized the hellhound didn't, in fact, intend to kill her. She noticed a tag hanging from its neck and she got closer to the hellhound to inspect the tag, a small smile forming on her face as she read, "Mrs. O'Leary. Please return to Perseus Jackson, Camp Half-Blood, if lost."

So the hellhound belonged to Percy. She patted Mrs. O'Leary's head and got another lick for it, then she continued towards the arena. Mrs. O'Leary barked again and ran in front of her, using her nose to push Athena away from the arena. Athena frowned and tried again, only to get the same response. No matter how many times Athena tried to get into the arena to see Percy, Mrs. O'Leary stopped her.

Athena finally stopped trying and headed back towards camp, slightly irked that Percy was going this far to make a statement. She decided she would just walk towards the dining hall since dinner was going to be served not too long from now.

When she was about halfway there, though, a group of really girly-looking girls cut her off, grinning stupid grins that could only mean they were daughters of Aphrodite.

"So, Itonia..." one of them said, a scary gleam in her eyes. "What's going on between you and Percy?"

"What do you mean?" Athena asked, her face slightly red. "How would you know if anything is happening between me and Percy?"

"Oh, come on," the girl replied, that smile still there. "We're daughters of Athena. We can physically see people's romantic relationships. We can see that you really like Percy and he really likes you. But there's a...a uh...a strangle between you two."

Athena was sure the word the girl had been looking for was strain, but decided to not comment. "And what is it to you?" Athena asked, wondering exactly what was going on. Did these Aphrodite girls like Percy as well?

"Well you see, Itonia," the same girl, who Athena was beginning to figure was the leader of this little group, began. "Percy's done a lot for us, and so we took it upon ourselves to lend him a hand whenever he needs it. And we can tell he really likes you, but for some reason wants nothing to do with you at the moment." She looked Athena up and down, then said, "So to help him be happier, we're going to help you get him back."

Athena blinked in surprise. Out of everything, that was probably what she had been expecting the least. "Oh," she said. "Thank you."

The lead girl squealed and grabbed her arm as another girl grabbed her other arm, and the two of them began dragging Athena towards their cabin. And it was at this moment that Athena realized that she may have made a grave mistake. The next thirty minutes passed in a flurry of hands in front of Athena's face and a lot of tugging at her hair. And then, when everybody finished what they were doing with her, the leader of the gang held up a mirror in front of her face and she gasped.

She didn't know she could look so...beautiful. She had never been interested in beauty, of course, having never had anybody she was interested in, so she never knew that she could look the way she did now. There was light makeup on her face and a bit of lip gloss on her lips, and her hair was now a bit wavy with slight curls near the ends, rather than the stick-straight mess she had possessed before.

"Thank you," she said, amazed that she had received so much help from Aphrodite and her children, of all people. Never in a million years would she have guessed that she would be so grateful towards the Goddess of Love.

"Now if you mess it up again, you'll have us to answer to," the leader said, acting tough. "So go out there and use everything at your disposal to get him back."

"Right," Athena said as she left the cabin, thanking them again. She hoped that this visual upgrade would get Percy to at least look at her so she could start a conversation at dinner, and with confidence brimming in her she headed to the dining hall, arriving just as the gong signifying the start of dinner rang.

She took her seat in front of Percy, who was sitting with his face in his arms. Her heart began racing in her chest as she played through several scenarios in her head, and when they sat down after the offering to the gods, at which Athena prayed to Aphrodite yet again, Percy finally looked at her.

"What's up with the makeup?" Percy asked with a bored voice as he began eating. "It doesn't suit you."

Athena sighed and felt a slight pang of annoyance. She looked damn good and he knew it. "Why do you think I have makeup on, Percy?"

"Look, A...Itonia," Percy said carefully. "It doesn't matter what you do. It's not going to happen."

"Why?" Athena asked curiously.

"Because I don't want something like what happened happening again, that's why," Percy said in a low voice, trying to keep their conversation as private as he could.

"Look, Percy," Athena said, leaning closer to him. "I'm really sorry about what happened. Why can't you just forgive me?"

"I do forgive you," Percy said. "I already said that. I already said that you got what you came for and you can leave."

"Tell me why you won't pursue something romantic with me so I can fix it and we can...do what we did again," Athena said, blushing a little. Despite how old and wise she was, it was weird to talk about these things that were so new to her.

"There's nothing you can do," Percy replied immediately, deadpan. "The way I see it, being with you is like being in an abusive relationship. You might not be hitting me, but you will easily abuse me emotionally. The one thing I've always learned from the abusive relationship stories I've heard is that you should never go back into one, because that makes the abuser think that what they did was okay. Why would I want something like that to happen again?"

Athena's lips pressed into a thin line, and she said, "Percy, despite what you think, I'm not an abusive person. My intention isn't to hurt you. I was an idiot and I would never do something like that again. You have to believe me."

"You've been nothing but abusive towards me since the moment I first met you, Ath...Itonia," Percy said, leaving Athena speechless as he got up and headed back toward the cabin.

It was true. She had been a giant bitch to him his whole life, and she was just now beginning to realize that acting like that towards people could really come back to bite her in the ass. Maybe she should have taken that advice from Poseidon when he told her she should be a little nicer to people.

Beginning to feel slightly discouraged, Athena walked to the Poseidon cabin, since that was where she was going to be sleeping, anyway. When she got into the cabin, Percy was sitting on his bed turned away from a door while he cleaned a shield, making it clear that he didn't want to talk.

Athena sighed and began getting ready for bed, shivering as she did so. It was unbelievably cold in the cabin for some reason.

"Why is it so cold, Percy?" she asked, shivering as she changed into her pajamas.

Percy sighed and said, "Heating broke down a couple nights ago. I was using two blankets, but now that you're staying here we're both down to one. Make sure to wear a sweater or something to bed."

Then Percy slipped under his blankets and turned on his side, making it clear that the conversation was over, and Athena sighed and crawled into her own bed, wishing she owned a sweater. All she had were these really comfortably sweatpants and this stupid T-shirt, which unfortunately didn't do a whole lot in terms of keeping her warm.

After fifteen minutes of trying to fall asleep but being way too cold to do so, Athena said, "Percy?"

Percy sighed a little and said, "I know, Athena. Just try to deal with it."

Athena laughed a little and said, "I'm not used to being cold. This is kind of interesting."

"Well I'm glad you're finding it interesting," Percy replied, and the two fell back into silence.

After a good ten minutes of silence and shivering, Percy said, "Athena, you still awake?"

Excited that Percy had finally initiated conversation, she said, "Yes."

Grudgingly, Percy said, "If you're really cold, you can bring your blanket and pillow over here. It'll be warmer if we sleep together."

The silence that pierced the air following Percy's statement was tangible as Athena processed what he had just said. He was giving her a golden opportunity.

She got up and walked over to him, her stomach doing flips inside of her as she climbed into bed next to him, laying her blanket over his. "Thank you, Percy," she said meekly even as he turned away from her.

"It's not for you, Athena," Percy replied. "I want to get some sleep too."

Athena smiled a little, knowing that Percy had considered her feelings at least a little. She turned away from him and closed her eyes, amazed at how much warmer it was when there was another body so close to hers. It probably helped that the person in question was Percy, too.

Athena was finding it much easier to drift off to sleep this time despite the nervous butterflies in her stomach. Right when she was almost asleep, however, she heard Percy call her name.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning to face him, wide awake now.

Her face heated up a bit when she realized Percy's nose was only inches from touching hers, and he said, "I know you came down here with the intention of getting together with me, but that just isn't going to happen." Athena's spirits fell a little, and he continued, "I feel bad, though, that you no longer have your powers because of all of this. If you want me to pretend that we're together so Zeus will give you your powers back, I'll do that much for you."

Confusion rippled through Athena before passion lit a flame in her. "You think I give a damn about my powers, Percy?" she asked, speaking without thinking. "I could give a damn about being a god. All I want is you Percy. I would rather spend one lifetime with you then a million lifetimes alone as a god. I can't believe you would even think that would be a possibility."

Percy, slightly embarrassed, said, "Athena, I..."

Athena didn't know why, but tears suddenly pricked her eyes. Maybe it was because she was really tired, or maybe it was because she was now human that she was feeling much more emotional. "I don't care about anything, Percy. I don't know how it's happened after only a week, but I can't envision a life without you anymore. Maybe this feeling has been here all along, that's why it's so strong. I just...I'm scared. I don't know what to do to show you that I'll never hurt you again." She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes, afraid of what she'd see in Percy's. Afraid of rejection. "I love you, Percy."

She stiffened when Percy's arms pulled her close to him, pressing her face against his chest. "I want nothing more than to trust you and be with you, Athena. Believe me. I just...I don't know if I can. I don't want to invest everything into you just to lose it all because of your pride."

"You think I give a damn about my pride anymore?" Athena asked into his chest, which muffled her voice. "I will never do anything like that again for as long as I exist, Percy. I'm just as afraid as you are that I'm going to lose you. Can't you see that? I made a mistake. I made a really horrible mistake. I just want one more chance, Percy."

"I'm afraid, Athena," Percy reiterated.

"If love was so easy, wouldn't it be boring?" Athena asked. "Sometimes you have to take that leap of faith."

Percy chuckled and tightened his grip on her a little, then asked, "Since when have you been such an expert on love?"

Athena gripped his shirt and said, "Since I fell in love with you." She was shaking in Percy's arms, she was so nervous at the moment. She was so close; she could feel it. "Percy, please. Please tell me what to do."

"Promise me, Athena," Percy said. "Promise me you won't hurt me."

"I promise, Percy," Athena said. "I promise you I'll never hurt you again. I feel terrible for how I let things happen last time."

Percy was silent for awhile, and just when Athena thought he had fallen asleep, he said, "Let me sleep on it, Athena."

And Athena had no choice but to say, "Okay."

She had laid everything down. She had said everything she wanted to say and didn't know what else she could do. All she could do now was wait.

Somehow, surprisingly, she fell asleep quickly despite how nervous she was about his answer.

When Athena woke up she was all alone in bed, which made her feel a little sad until nervous anticipation took over. Today would be the day Percy gave her his answer to her confession from last night. By the end of today, it would all be over either way.

Athena quickly showered, got dressed, and headed to breakfast, where Percy told her in between bites, "Not here. I don't want to cause a scene."

This made Athena far more nervous than she had been before. Was he going to reject her? Did he think she was going to react hysterically?

So Athena went through her day with a nervous pit in her stomach, waiting for the moment that Percy told her he was no longer interested in her.

Finally, there came a point in the day where Chiron ordered the two of them to come up with a gameplan for this week's capture the flag match. So the two of them went to the cabin and sat on the sofa in there with the map in front of them, Athena studiously training her eyes on the map in fear that she would see rejection in Percy's eyes.

She didn't know when she had lost all of that confidence that she had possessed as a goddess, only that she didn't really care anymore. She just didn't want Percy to leave her for good, even though they weren't really ever together.

"Athena..." Percy said, his hands clasped together with his elbows on his knees. "Look at me, Athena."

Scared beyond all belief, Athena turned to face him and finally met his eyes. She didn't know what to think at that point.

Then Percy's face was getting closer to hers, and Athena's eyes drifted shut as Percy pressed his lips against hers. The ball of nervousness in her stomach melted away, and when Percy finally pulled away from her she had a smile on her face.

"Percy..." she said, unsure of what to say.

"You won't get a third chance, Athena," he said, looking into her eyes seriously.

"I know, Percy," she said. "I won't need one."

"Good," Percy said before leaning down to kiss her again, this time trailing kisses down to her neck afterwards.

She leaned back until she was lying on the sofa with Percy on top of her, and she felt warmth beginning to pool in her core as he nipped at her collarbone.

Her head spinning from elation and with how fast everything was moving now, she asked in a slightly dazed voice, "What about the game plan?"

"Fuck that," Percy said as he pulled her shirt over her head. "Do you realize how hard it was sleeping next to you last night without being able to touch you?"

He reached behind her and took her bra off, exposing her pale, perfect breasts to him, and Athena took in a shaky breath as Percy's mouth closed around her right nipple while his hands unbuttoned her jeans.

"Take me however you want, Percy," Athena said, the thrill of imagining Percy using her making her lightheaded. "Touch me like you wanted to touch me last night."

At that, Percy took his mouth off of her nipple and pulled down her jeans and underwear in one motion, then quickly divested himself of his own clothing, his hard, thick cock already leaking precum.

Athena could feel her juices leaking already and spread her legs for Percy, who climbed on top of her and kissed her again, their tongues meeting and clashing for a few moments before Athena felt Percy's bulbous crown prodding her entrance, making her arch her back into him.

"I love you, Athena," Percy said right before he pushed into her and completely sheathed himself in her, making tears of pleasure blur her vision. The way Percy filled her up and stretched her out felt incredible. So incredibly, in fact, that Athena immediately felt her inner muscles squeeze around Percy's cock as her orgasm tore through her, and she bucked her hips up against his as she came all over his cock.

Percy began moving in and out of her at a decent pace, making Athena keen and moan because she was so sensitive from her orgasm.

"Oh god, Percy," she purred as he pistoned in and out of her, the sounds of the their skin slapping together filling the small cabin.

The sound of her husky voice in his ear made Percy pick up his pace a little, and her hot, slick walls tightening around him made his balls begin to tighten.

Percy nipped Athena's pulse point as he slammed into her over and over again, and Athena cried out as another orgasm ripped through her, her teeth gritting as her inner muscles drew Percy in even further. She let out a shaky breath as warm spurts of cum shot into her, Percy's head buried in the crook of her neck as he pumped rope after rope of thick cum straight into her womb, her pussy milking every last drop out of him.

Then Percy sat up and said, "Get me hard again like last time, Athena. I want to keep going."

Athena got up a little slowly, amazed at how tired she felt already. She didn't know having sex would be so exhausting.

She leaned forward and lowered her mouth down Percy's half-flaccid cock, sucking hard as she tasted a mixture of the two of them on his cock. She began bobbing her head on him as she lightly scraped her nails over his ballsack, giggling a bit when Percy's cock twitched in response.

"Holy shit, Athena," he said as she deepthroated him and began bobbing her head on him at a pretty quick pace, swirling her tongue around his crown all the while.

Within a couple minutes he was completely hard again, and Athena pulled off of him, her cheeks flushed and strings of spit still attaching her lips to his cock.

"Ride me," Percy commanded, pulling her on top of him, her breasts flush against his chest.

Athena braced her hands on his shoulders and lowered herself on top of him, her breath leaving her as the tip of his cock pressed against the opening to her cervix. Percy's hands found her hips as she began riding him, and she bit her lip to stifle a moan. He was gripping her so hard she was sure she would end up being bruised, but that did nothing but excite her even more. The pain felt so good.

She rode him fast and hard, making sure that her bouncing breasts were in full view of Percy, whose eyes were fixated on her chest. Each time she impaled herself on his cock, Athena felt her core tighten more and more, and a liquid fire was raging in her belly. Percy looked like he was in ecstasy, and the way he was thrusting up into her and driving her breath out of her only made her even more frantic, her release so close.

The way Percy felt inside of her was amazing. Each movement sent jolts of pleasure racing through her body, each ridge in his cock rubbing against her inner walls made her teeth clench a little harder as she tried to stave off her orgasm for as long as possible.

Percy looked like he was having a difficult time holding his orgasm off, too, and Athena said, "Fill me up, Percy. Fill my womb with your hot cum."

"Athena..." Percy moaned.

Athena, still riding Percy as fast as she could, leaned forward and nibbled on his ear, and he cried out her name as he thrusted up into her and held her at the base of his cock, sighing in pleasure as he pumped hot streams of cum deep into her body. Athena's orgasm slammed into her as Percy's searing heat began filling her, and she cried out his name as she coated his cock with her clear, glistening juices, her muscles spasming around his cock, trying to draw him in deeper.

Then the two of them collapsed in a sweaty mess onto the sofa with Percy on bottom and Athena on top of him, both of them completely exhausted but feeling amazing in their post-coital state.

"I love you, Athena," Percy said, his arms wrapped around her. "I would have never guessed I would fall in love with you, but I have."

"I never would have guessed it either, but I love you too, Percy," Athena replied happily, glad that love worked in mysterious and unexpected ways.

"Thank you, Lord Zeus and Aphrodite," Athena said, bowing in front of them with Percy behind her. "Without you two I would have never been able to win Percy back."

Poseidon was looking at the whole scene dumbstruck, and some of the other gods looked really confused.

"We plan to get married within the next year, and as such, I will be granting Percy with immortality with your consent, Lord Zeus," Athena said, not embarrassed in the slightest.

"Very well," Zeus replied as if he didn't care at all. Which he probably didn't. "Is that all?"

"I also come bearing the news that I am with child," Athena said. "She is expected to be born in eight months."

"Interesting," Zeus said. "We will have to hold a celebration."

Zeus excused them after a couple more questions, and Aphrodite immediately approached the two with a grin on her face. "So you two have been really, really busy over the past two months, I see," she said playfully.

Athena blushed a little, but calmly said, "That we have, sister." Her voice softened, and she said, "And thank you, Aphrodite. I am in your debt."

"It was my pleasure, sister," Aphrodite replied. "I'm glad you and Percy were able to work things out."

Athena gave Percy's hand a squeeze and said, "Yeah, me too."

Percy gave Aphrodite a 'thank you' as well, and he and Athena began walking towards her temple on Olympus hand in hand in hand without a care in the world. It had been a difficult journey, but they were finally happy at last.


End file.
